Same-sex resolution a hot topic

Most Napa councilmembers say vote on issue 'doesn't feel right'

By KEVIN COURTNEY
Register Staff Writer

Napa City Councilman Mark van Gorder’s request that the city take a stand in support of same-sex marriage has triggered a flood of response, pro and con.

But when the issue comes before the council Tuesday afternoon, it will likely go nowhere.

The other four council members say they do not intend to support a resolution in support of marriage rights for everyone. Regardless of their personal beliefs, the council should not be taking a position on controversial social issues, they say.

The group Democrats of Napa Valley sent out an e-mail blast last week urging members to attend the 3:30 p.m. council meeting at City Hall in support of marriage equality. “Remind them that we elected them to FULLY represent us and we expect them to stand with us on this,” the e-mail urged.

Van Gorder has submitted a resolution asking the council to affirm broadly the right of everyone to marry, regardless of sexual orientation.

The resolution, revised from the original, reads: “The city does not support discrimination and finds that all people regardless of gender should be able to enter into the legal contract of marriage and receive the same social and legal benefits and recognition as conferred by the State of California.”

His original resolution would have asked the state Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. The court is considering a legal challenge to Proposition 8 and is expected to rule later this spring.

Van Gorder said he was asked by several local gays and lesbians to put same-sex marriage before the council. The issue is a simple one, he said Friday. “Do elected leaders support equal rights for everyone?” he asked.

“It’s a deeply personal issue for people on both sides,” van Gorder said. As the son of a father who participated in the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, “I’ve always grown up being taught people should be treated equally,” he said.

Although the ban won a narrow victory statewide, Proposition 8 was opposed by 55 percent of city voters, van Gorder said.

Wedge issue

In interviews with the Register, van Gorder’s fellow council members say he has chosen the wrong forum for debating same-sex marriage. Unlike Berkeley or San Francisco, the Napa council does not have a tradition of weighing in on divisive social issues not directly related to the conduct of city business, they said.

“I don’t feel it’s appropriate for us to be dealing with it,” Mayor Jill Techel said. It’s one thing for her to declare her personal belief on this issue, but quite another to make it the city’s official position, she said.

“This is just a wedge issue,” Councilwoman Juliana Inman said. “How can you win by making either your Mormon friends angry or your gay friends angry?”

“It just doesn’t feel right,” Inman said. “It makes me feel so sad.”

Councilman Peter Mott said people may feel strongly about the same-sex marriage issue, but “I think it should be in the right venue. The city council isn’t the right venue.”

“I’ve been working with neighborhood groups, trying to get people to join each other and be more united,” he said. “This comes up and divides us.”

Two weeks ago, Mott seconded van Gorder’s motion to bring a resolution in support of same-sex marriage to the council for consideration.

He regrets his second, Mott said. “We shouldn’t be debating issues we don’t have any jurisdiction over. I feel very strongly about that.”

“We are going into treacherous times,” said Councilman Jim Krider, citing city financial issues. “We have to not take our eye off the ball. We want to deal with city problems, not state or federal problems.”

“I’d prefer to not even have a conversation at the council level,” Krider said.

The matter has been put on the agenda for the afternoon council session under Administrative Reports.

Techel said the council would give citizens the opportunity to voice their opinions on the marriage issue. The council always welcomes public comment, she said.

Van Gorder said he feels fine with letting council meetings become a forum for issues that residents feel strongly about. Democracy can be “messy,” he said, particularly on issues where passions run high.

Would he entertain the council taking a stance on abortion or another hot-button issue? Depending on the social context, he might, he said.

An earlier Register story about van Gorder’s proposal touched a nerve with online readers, who made nearly 150 comments. The majority of comments were hostile to the council voicing an opinion, saying it was not city business. “So all the problems facing the city have been solved?” said one.

“The City Council has no dog in this hunt,” wrote another.

Van Gorder also received praise. “I want to live in a community that is not afraid to state its position on equality or its opposition to discrimination,” a reader wrote.

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